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Bernstein: Officers won't be charged in man's death

The Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office said it will not press criminal charges against three police officers who were involved in an incident in September in which a man died in police custody.

City State's Attorney Gregg Bernstein said the office completed its investigation into the death of Anthony Anderson, who died on Sept. 21 during a drug arrest. Police initially said Anderson, 46, choked on drugs after allegedly being thrown on the ground, but an autopsy later revealed his death was caused by internal bleeding that happened because of blunt force trauma caused by the fall.

The three officers -- Todd Strohman, Gregory Boyd and Michael Vodarick -- were part of the department's former Violent Crime Impact Section and have been on administrative duty since the investigation began.

The investigation determined that while Strohman's actions did cause Anderson's death, his use of force was not excessive and that it fell within Police Department training guidelines. Officials said Boyd and Vodarick weren't involved in the physical encounter with Anderson.

"Certainly within the contours of Baltimore City Police Department's use of force guidelines this would be an appropriate maneuver ... given the degree resistance presented," Bernstein said.

Investigators said the three men were patrolling an area in east Baltimore know for extensive drug activity the night of the incident when they saw Anderson leave a bar and hand off suspected drugs to another person. Bernstein's office said several witnesses corroborated that testimony.

Investigators said the officers followed Anderson, and when Strohman got out of the car and told him to stop, Anderson moved faster and put a bag of drugs in his mouth. The report showed Strohman bear-hugged Anderson and took him down to the ground, falling on top of him and causing Anderson to spit out the bag of drugs, which was later determined to be heroin.

The report showed Vodarick helped handcuff Anderson.

During the arrest, the report said Anderson's breathing became shallow and he started to slump over. It said the officers thought he was overdosing on some of the drugs, so Boyd called for an ambulance.

When paramedics got there, they report showed they also believed Anderson was overdosing, so they gave him Narcan, a drug inhibitor. The report said Anderson's condition got better, but it deteriorated again on the way to Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he later died.

An autopsy found that Anderson's spleen ruptured during the fall with Strohman and that he had a pre-existing condition in which his spleen was enlarged due to liver disease, which led to internal bleeding that ultimately killed him.

Investigators said they concluded that Strohman did not intend to cause death or serious physical injury to Anderson, nor did he act in a grossly negligent manner that created a risk for human life.

Bernstein said he met with Anderson's family to discuss the investigation's findings on Thursday morning. The family put pressure on Bernstein's office earlier this month to press charges and said Thursday they're not happy with the decision.

"I was shocked. I'm flabbergasted by the whole situation, and it seems like he's making a mockery of the whole situation,' said Marcus Pettiford, Anderson's son.

"I couldn't believe that they're not going to charge the police for what they did. We have the autopsy report, and the autopsy report basically tells us what we already knew, (because) we already knew because we saw it. But the autopsy confirmed it," the victim's sister, Shayna Anderson, said. "It's like they threw all of that out the window and taking the police word on what happened, and that's not fair."

The family said they believe Anderson was racially profiled and that Bernstein discounted key witness testimony.

"We have to go over the top of him and make this a federal case. We're not going to stop. We're not standing still on this one," Pettiford said.

Bernstein said all three officers are still subject to an internal review to see if any administration action should be taken. Anderson's family said it has planned a rally and march in east Baltimore for Saturday and that they're moving forward with a civil lawsuit.

The Civil Rights division of the Department of Justice is still investigating the matter.

Strohman had been with the department for three years when the incident happened. Boyd had been with the department for 16 years, and Vodarick for seven.

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